The Mysterious Warrior
by Brynhild GoUrL
Summary: AU, but closely resembling canon. What if Luna had discovered Darien instead of Serena? Yes, I'm using Dub names. Sorry (I might change to sub later). Spoilers for Sailor Moon R movie.
1. Prologue

**Title:** The Mysterious Warrior  
**Author:** Dea Brynhild Ensomhet  
**Disclaimer:** Sailor Moon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi and various others excluding me. I am making no money off of this nor do I intend any infringement.

"""  
_Prologue_

The child sat on a hospital bed, his legs hanging over the side. The hospital pajamas he was wearing were a light blue but slightly wrinkled, and his jet black hair was tousled. A soft whimpering come from his rocking form, and tears had left a trail down his face. He was being abandoned again. First his parents were killed, and now his best friend was leaving. "Why do you have to go, Fiore?" he whispered to himself through the tears. As time passed, the boy's whimpers quieted as the rocking slowed. With a final sniff, he slid off the bed and to his feet. He couldn't just sit there crying; he had to find a going-away present for his best friend. 

Wandering through the hospital halls, he glanced in the open doors on the way to the elevator. His eventual destination was the gift shop, but he paused at one door and stepped inside. 

The bed seemed to dwarf the tiny figure curled up amid the sheets and blankets. Her pajamas were similar in style to his, except they were a soft pink. Her blond hair had been gathered into two odango-like round buns, one on either side of her head, with the remaining strands falling loose. Her light blue eyes were vacant, staring into space. The calm, apathetic expression on her face had drawn him to her; that expression seemed too mature and out of place on her six year old face. It spoke of the sadness of a lost soul becoming resigned with their fate, and he remembered a similar expression on Fiore's face when they first met. 

"Hi." he said, standing at the foot of her bed. Slowly her head turned and her eyes focused on him. 

"Hello." she replied, her voice quiet. He stepped closer until he was standing next to her bed. "Who are you?" 

"My name is Darien. What's yours?" Now that he was near her, he could make out the fierce purple bruises coloring her visible skin and the bandage around her right arm. 

"Serenity." As he watched her, her left hand reached up and touched his cheek gently, like an angel's caress. "Why were you crying?" she asked. 

The boy wiped the last traces of his tears away with the back of his hand as he sniffed. "My best friend is going away." he explained, his young voice breaking with the swell of raw emotion. "He's my only friend and he's going away. I'm going to be all alone!" he rubbed his sleeve against his nose, willing himself not to cry again. 

He almost didn't hear her speak, her voice was little more than a whisper. "No you won't." He looked up, blinking at her. She was sitting up in bed now, her gaze locked on him... and then she smiled. 

It was a breathtakingly beautiful smile that revealed the depth of kindness in her soul. Had there been any adults present, they would have said that the radiant smile hinted at the ethereal enchantress the child would grow up to become. It was this entrancing smile that Darien was rewarded with, and instantly he felt the pain and sadness clutching at his heart subside. 

"I'll be your friend." she promised. A grateful smile full of hope slowly appeared on his face. Casting a glance around her room, she seized a single rose from its vase beside her bed. The rose was healthy, its bright green leaves showing no insect bites, and its dark red blossom was beginning to open, revealing the multitude of petals inside. She held it out to him. "I want you to have this. It's a present." 

He slowly reached out his hand to accept the blooming flower from her grasp. He held it under his nose and closed his eyes before inhaling deeply. Eyes opening, he smiled shyly at her. "Thank you." he murmured. 

His gaze caught for a moment on the clock by her bed, and he stared at it, startled. He was supposed to meet Fiore on the roof to say goodbye in five minutes! He glanced at the door; if he ran up the couple flights of stairs he could still make it. Giving one last friendly smile to the young girl, he said, "I gotta go. Thank you for the gift. I'll see you tomorrow, Serenity!" before jogging out her door. 

"Tomorrow." the girl sighed to herself as she watched the boy race away to meet his other friend. The couple who called themselves her parents were taking her out of the hospital tonight. She might never see the boy again, but she vowed never to forget him. Who knew, maybe they might meet again someday. Lying back in bed, she let her gaze unfocus and stare into space as her mind returned to mulling over the thought of living with complete strangers. 

Still trying to catch his breath, Darien stood on the hospital roof, gasping from the effort of climbing all the stairs, watching a cloud of sparkles where his best friend had been standing moments before. Fiore had seemed so delighted to get the rose, and it made Darien feel good that he made his best friend happy. As he walked back to his room, he passed Nurse Jenny who noticed the melancholy look on his face. 

"Where's your little friend, Darien? Did he have to go back home?" For the past week the two young boys had been inseparable. Darien had told all the nurses that Fiore was one of his friends from back home come to visit. Even being only eleven, he knew better than to tell them that Fiore was an alien he had found sleeping in the rain outside; the adults would think he was crazy, or try putting Fiore into an orphanage too. 

"Yeah, Fiore had to go home." Darien replied. Or, at least, figure out where home was. Nurse Jenny nodded and continued on her duties, and Darien slipped back into his room and crawled into bed. As he fell asleep, he comforted himself with the promise Fiore had made, to return again someday. 

The next morning, after a quick stop past the hospital gift shop to pick up a small box of chocolates, he raced to his newest best friend's room. After all, girls like chocolate, right? He wanted to give her a gift in return for the rose she had given him the day before. "Good morning, Serenity!" he called, running into her room and skidding to a halt. 

Walking backwards out the door, he checked the room number. It was the same room Serena had been in the day before. Taking a deep breath and clutching the chocolates in his hand, he walked back into the room again. 

The bed was freshly made, and empty. All trace of the girl who had been there were gone. Afraid that maybe the girl's injuries were more severe than he had thought, he looked up as Nurse Jenny entered. 

Jenny recognized the look of shocked horror and questions on his young face, and quickly reassured him. "Oh, her family took her home last night." Darien looked back at the bed and stared, illogically hoping that maybe if he looked long enough, she'd reappear. Jenny continued, even though Darien wasn't really listening anymore. "Poor girl too. Was riding her bike and was hit by a car. They say she has amnesia, didn't even recognize her parents." She sighed, remembering the melancholy look on the young girl's face. "She was so sweet, I hope she gets better soon." Ushering Darien out of the room, she paused in the doorway to look back at the empty bed. "It's a pity, really," she murmured to herself, "that tragedies happen to such young children." 


	2. It Begins

**Title:** The Mysterious Warrior  
**Author:** Dea Brynhild Ensomhet  
**Disclaimer:** Sailor Moon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi and various others excluding me. I am making no money off of this nor do I intend any infringement. 

"""  
_Chapter 1: It Begins  
_

White. The purity of the color was glaring, burning the eyes with its brightness. All around her the white fog was so thick that it blocked all view of what might lay beyond it. But even without sight, she knew exactly where he was. Unable to resist the power that drew her like a magnet, she stepped forward through the fog and placed her hand on the balcony railing she knew was there. The moment her fingers touched the cool stone railing, the fog cleared and she saw him.

He was standing far below her balcony, wearing a suit of armor and a sword on his hip, looking for all the world like he had just stepped out of a medieval fantasy. He was her knight in shining armor, the prince of her dreams. His onyx-black hair stood out against the opal fog glittering around him; his armor a dark, vibrant silver glimmering in the light. He was too far away and the fog was slightly obscuring her vision; try as she might, she couldn't make out the details of his face, but his whole posture spoke his plea as his smooth voice echoed in the fog. _...Help me. You're the only one who can. Find the Silver Imperium Crystal. You're the only one who can free me. Please help me..._ the prince continued to chant, beseeching her for assistance.

She leaned over the railing and stretched her hand towards him, but he was too far away to reach. "Please..." she begged him, "Tell me who you are. Who am I? Where is this crystal?" But her questions remained unanswered, as the prince did not pause in his monologue.

_Please help me..._ his voice faded as the fog drifted around him like a cloak and concealed him from view.

"No!" she yelled, straining to see him as the fog thickened and rolled towards her. "Come back!" The fog concealed everything around her, and she was once again lost.

Alone.

Abandoned in the eternal shapeless white.

"Please come back." she wept, her voice cracking as she fell to her knees and let the tears stream down her face. "Please..."

Serena sat up in bed quickly, gasping in air as salt-water stained her cheeks. It was that dream again, the same one she had been having since she could remember. The unknown prince was haunting her dreams more recently now, but she had no idea why. Eventually, her breathing slowed to a normal rate and she glanced at her clock. 3:30 in the morning.

Groaning in disgust, she buried her head under the pillow. She'd never get back to sleep now, and with the Prince taking up more and more of her REM cycle, she wasn't sure she wanted to. Sighing in defeat to the gut feeling that lured her, she got out of bed, changed clothes, and grabbed a light jacket before climbing out her window. Carefully scaling down the trellis like she'd done dozens of times, she let her feet guide her as she wandered through the city. She didn't know where she'd go, but she hoped she'd find something, a clue perhaps.

Hours later, dawn broke the sky into a multitude of colors, and like every other night the dream had sent her searching, she hadn't found anything. Serena headed home, her shoulders slumped in disappointment. She had been so sure that this would be the day she found... something. Some clue that her dream was more than a self-crafted fantasy. Re-entering her room via the trellis, she changed back into pajamas and slid under the covers. Sunlight was shining in her window with a vengeance, and her body was exhausted from walking so much that perhaps she could finally fall asleep without dreams plaguing her. She was just about asleep when there was a knock on her bedroom door.

"Serena! Time to wake up! Get up now or else you're going to be late again." Serena closed her eyes and ignored the voice. Her parents didn't know that she haunted the streets like a specter at night, so when she refused to awaken in the morning, they thought she was just another lazy teenager. "Coming." she called back, and promptly closed her eyes and drifted into slumber. _Maybe I can get a few more minutes of sleep..._ she thought, surrendering herself to the unconscious oblivion.

_Let go of me! Leave me alone!_ she shrieked mentally, but it didn't matter how hard she struggled... There were three of them, and with her forehead covered she had no powers to draw on to get away from these creeps. But that didn't mean that she'd give into them. She writhed in the two boys' grasps as the third boy tried to force her mouth open so he could touch her tongue.

Despair flooded over her as she fought. These kinds of things weren't supposed to happen to her. She was a royal advisor, damn it! Royal advisors were never accosted! Biting the boy whose finger was pressing against her lips, her triumph was short lived as she felt the boy's other hand taking advantage of her distraction to cram one of his dirty fingers into her mouth. _Please, anyone,_ she thought desperately as she closed her eyes, _Please help me..._

"You kids leave that cat alone!" the voice startled the boys, and they scattered like cockroaches after turning on a light. She felt gentle hands pick her up off the parking lot the boys had sent her sprawling on. Slowly, she open her eyes and focused on the face of her rescuer.

It was a girl, around fifteen or so, with big bluish-silver eyes and long blond hair that was caught up in a bun on either side of her head before streaming loose. There was something about that hairstyle that she thought was familiar, but she couldn't recall why. But the girl seemed kind, so perhaps she could get her to uncover her forehead. Pawing futilely at the Band-Aids crossed over her forehead, she almost sighed in relief as the girl caught on. "Oh, let me take those off for you." the girl said as she peeled off the Band-Aids.

A mild but pleasant shock of electricity raced through the cat's body. Luna felt her powers become available to her again as the golden crescent moon on her forehead was revealed. Jumping out of the girl's arms, she landed on a parked car roof and turned back to the girl. She must have seen the blond around the city or something... that must be why she seemed so familiar. Then again... the blond couldn't be one of the warriors she was looking for... could she?

Visibly hit by a thought, the blond shrieked, "I'm going to be late!" and took off running. "Bye kitty!" the girl shouted before turning a corner and running out of view. Already tired with all the excitement of the morning, Luna decided to head to the arcade and spend the day sleeping in the back room. Maybe Andrew, the guy who worked there, would be kind enough to give her a saucer of milk.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Haruna. I'm trying..." Serena wailed to herself. Her teacher had left her out in the hallway to _think_ about the horrible grade she got on the last paper. A thirty! And a detention for tardiness to top it off. Serena did try, but school was so _hard_. And there were way too many things more interesting that homework. How could a young girl be expected to do homework when her time could be spent reading the new Sailor V manga? The lunch bell rang and Serena dragged herself out into the schoolyard where her peers were comparing and celebrating their good grades.

"Hey Serena!" A girl with dark red hair waved, motioning the blond over. "This last test was hard, wasn't it? I barely squeaked by with an eighty-five."

"Hey Molly." Sere replied, sitting next to her best friend and opening her lunch. "I got a thirty. Mom's gonna skin me alive."

Molly offered a consoling smile and her extra sandwich. "Here. You'll need this more than I do." Molly was familiar with Sere's mom's reaction to bad test grades: To bed without supper.

Serena took the sandwich and put it in her backpack for later. "Thank you so much, Mol."

Molly smiled. "You're welcome, Sere." Then an excited grin crossed her face. "Guess what! My mom's jewelry store is gonna have a sale today. Why don't you come with me after you get out of detention? There's no better cheer-me-up than a shopping spree."

Serena shrugged. She doubted she could afford anything in Mol's mom's shop, but it didn't hurt to window browse. "Sure. I'll be there."

"Awesome." Molly replied, and they finished their lunch.

"Fifty percent off! Supplies are limited, so get 'em while they're hot! The more you buy, the more you save!" A saleswoman shouted into a megaphone while standing outside the jewelry shop. She continued shouting, drawing attention and customers from the pedestrians walking past. Already, the store was packed with people, but the woman kept shouting. Molly blushed in embarrassment as she and Serena approached the store. The woman caught sight of the two schoolgirls, and her smile grew wider.

"Molly! It's nice to see you brought a friend." the woman said, then turned to Serena. "You can have 75 off anything you want. Nothing's too good for Molly's friends." she turned away and lifted the megaphone back to her lips, resuming her shouting. "Everything must go! The prices won't stay low for long, so stock up on jewelry now!"

"Thank you." Serena said, blinking in surprise. Molly's mom was certainly... energetic... today. She didn't think she had ever seen the woman packing the customers in like this before. "She's like a used car salesman." she thought in disbelief.

Molly's blush turned a shade or two redder at her mother's antics. "Come on, Serena." she murmured, grabbing her best friend's hand and pulling her into the store. Wading through the sea of people was difficult, and they were separated as the babble of several conversations jumbled in the air.

Serena looked around the store, admiring the jewelry and trying to find space to stand without being crammed on all sides by people, like sardines. She recognized a few of her classmates browsing through some rhinestone hair barrettes. One of the girls said that she'd ask her parents to buy the jewelry for her as a reward for aceing the test yesterday. Serena sighed, knowing that her parents would never buy her jewelry with the bad grade she got. Depression setting in again, she decided to leave. Waving a goodbye to Molly, she managed to get out of the store in one piece.

Walking down the street, she slowed to a stop in front of Crown Arcade, her gaze riveted on a poster in the window. It was an advertisement for the new Sailor V game, and it showed Sailor V in all her glory, smiling in a signature pose. Serena sighed as she took in the great looks, totally fit body, and awesome fashion of Sailor V. She bet that Sailor V never had to worry about bad grades or harsh parents. She believed Sailor V's life, besides fighting evil, had to be perfect. She sighed again at how lousy her own life looked in comparison. She was about to leave when the doors to the arcade slid open and Andrew Furuhata stepped out, the black cat from earlier at his feet.

"Hey Serena!" the blond arcade employee smiled, a smile that made most of the girls that came to the arcade fall for him immediately. Of course, he didn't know the power of his smile, and he never encouraged the flock of girls who mooned over him since he already had a girlfriend.

"Hey Andrew." she replied unenthusiastically. Normally she would have been thrilled to be around him, but the prospect of showing her recent test to her parents was really bumming her out. She perked up a little when she recognized the cat. "Is that your crescent-moon-bald-spotted kitty? I didn't know you had a cat."

Andrew shook his head. "Nope. She's a stray that's been hanging around here lately." A shout from inside the arcade drew Andrew's attention. "Duty calls. I'll see you later Serena." he said as he entered the store. Serena pulled out the test paper and frowned at it, not noticing that the black cat was still sitting outside the arcade, watching her with a strange fascination.

"How am I supposed to show this to mom?" she griped, crumpling the paper into a ball and tossing it over her shoulder in disgust. She almost jumped out of her skin when a voice spoke from behind her, almost in her ear.

"Excuse me, Miss Cowtails, but do I look like a trashcan to you?"

"They're 'pigtails', not cowtails, stupid. Pigtails!" Serena muttered as she whirled around to face the stranger. Raven black hair was wind-blown, and he was wearing a black shirt and a green blazer. He was tall, and he looked strong... definitely not trashcan material. He had smoothed out her test paper and held it in front of his face, and though she couldn't see his expression, she could hear the smirk in his voice.

"A thirty? Who's calling who stupid?" he lowered the paper and looked at her, his eyebrow cocking as he teased, "Are you really this ignorant or are you just incredibly lazy?" His dark, ocean-blue eyes sparkled with amusement and Sere was stunned by them for a moment, lost in his gaze.

She blinked as her brain processed the insult, and her expression turned lethal. Snatching the paper from his grasp, she stalked away muttering "Conceited jerk." A small inner voice confessed that he was a rather handsome conceited jerk, but she ignored it as she walked away. Yet she did pause for a moment before turning a corner, and looked back, just to get one last look at him. Amazingly enough, he was still standing in front of the arcade, watching her with that annoying smirk painted on his lips. She scowled and continued on her way, mentally making a list of unpleasant things about him.

Darien just grinned as he watched the spunky blond turn the corner and disappear from sight. For some strange reason, that spat had completely cheered him up. Walking into the arcade, he noticed the cat that had been hanging around recently was watching him. Shaking off a weird feeling of being scrutinized, he slid onto a stool at the counter. The black cat jumped onto the stool next to him, and he absently started petting the feline, scratching behind her ear to evoke a rumbling purr.

"You and that cat seem to be getting along nicely." Andrew said, walking up to them.

"Well, what can I say? The cat has good taste." Darien joked.

"She's been hanging out around here for a while and nobody's claimed her. Why don't you take her home with you?"

Darien smiled at the subtle hint of pleading in Andrew's voice. "Oh, I get it. You just don't want Lizzy to see her and try to take her home, right?"

Andrew sighed at the mention of his little sister. "Yes, all right. Believe me, Elizabeth doesn't need any more pets, and you know how she gets when Mum says no. The Furuhata household doesn't need another hermit crab disaster, if you know what I mean."

"You can count on me." Darien replied, then turned to the feline who was purring whist arching as his hand slid down her back. "Wanna come home with me?" he murmured. The cat gave a short affirmative meow before leaping onto his shoulder, via a hop on the counter, and gently securing her claws in the shoulder of his jacket. "Okay then." Darien grinned a goodbye to Andrew. "I should be getting going then, since I'll have to pick up supplies for my new roommate, and get that essay written…"

"Essay this, essay that," Andrew smiled teasingly. "You act as if it's due tomorrow. C'mon, man, you're a college student now. Live a little. Procrastinate. Attend wild frat parties."

Darien spared him a look. "Education is the foundation for-"

"-for a free society, I know the speech." Andrew shook his head, still smiling. "Whatever, man. Go, have fun on the essay. Sit in your dark, sophisticated apartment and read your textbooks. Maybe the cat will lighten you up. Kami knows you need the companionship." Darien laughed as he walked out of the arcade, waving at Andrew while trying not to jostle the feline clinging to his shoulder.

TBC...


End file.
